SummerSlam 1990: The Hart Foundation Saves the Wrestling; Hogan Saves the Building

The opener becomes a handicap match by necessity. Shawn Michaels enters with a legitimate knee problem, Hercules attacks the leg before the bell, and Marty Jannetty spends nearly the entire match trying to survive both members of Power and Glory. That limitation gives the bout a useful story even if it removes the Rockers' normal tag rhythm. Jannetty fires through quick cradles, dropkicks and desperate comebacks while Slick distracts the referee and Michaels repeatedly fails to become a functional partner. The finish is decisive: Hercules hits the superplex and Roma follows with the top-rope splash for the PowerPlex.

Meltzer's reproduced rating is three stars, while TJR goes two and focuses on the injury-driven booking more than the work. WrestleFile lands at C+ / 6.9 because Jannetty's performance is strong and the injury is integrated intelligently rather than hidden. It still feels like a compromised version of the match these teams were capable of having.

Kerry Von Erich receives a championship launch rather than a full championship match. Mr. Perfect controls just long enough to establish the hierarchy, Tornado absorbs the offense, locks in the claw and lands the discus punch for the title in barely five minutes. Perfect's selling is the memorable part. He spins violently off the finishing punch and continues bumping after the result, making Tornado's offense look much larger than the match's actual investment.

The emergency context matters. Brutus Beefcake's parasailing injury removed the planned challenger, and Von Erich had only recently arrived in WWF. Giving him the title instantly establishes credibility, but the short runtime prevents the match from developing beyond the surprise. TJR gives it 1.25 stars and Meltzer only one star, while the live crowd reacts strongly to the change. WrestleFile goes C+ / 6.6 because the segment succeeds at creating a new champion, even if the match itself never gets a chance to become good enough for the names involved.

Tito Santana could make almost anybody look more mobile than they were, and SummerSlam 1990 asks him to perform that public service for Warlord. Santana creates the early pace with dropkicks and the flying forearm, Slick interferes, and Warlord gradually turns the match into a power showcase. The finish is clean enough: Warlord blocks the comeback and wins with the running powerslam.

The problem is that nothing in the five-plus minutes suggests this needed pay-per-view placement. TJR gives it one star and Meltzer's reproduced rating is a DUD. The crowd is not dead, but it is waiting for larger names and larger stakes. WrestleFile lands at D+ / 5.4 because Santana keeps the match competent and the finish accomplishes the straightforward goal of pushing Warlord. Competence is the ceiling, not the insult.

This is the match SummerSlam 1990 spends the rest of the night trying to find again. Bret Hart supplies the structure and sells through the first fall, Demolition win with the Decapitation, and the second fall shifts through Neidhart's hot tag before Crush bizarrely attacks the referee to stop the pin and gets Demolition disqualified. The third fall adds the famous cheat: Ax hides under the ring, replaces Smash and somehow expects a referee with functioning eyesight not to notice. It is absurd, but it creates enough outrage for Legion of Doom's arrival to feel like the cavalry rather than random interference.

The finish is excellent crowd management. Hawk and Animal expose Ax, Neidhart slingshots into Crush, Bret gets the pin and the Spectrum explodes. Hall gives it B-plus, TJR 3.25 stars and Meltzer 3.5. Cagematch's matchguide is the strongest on the show by a wide margin. WrestleFile goes A- / 8.9 because the match has progression, heat, a meaningful title change and a star-making Bret performance. The substitution logic is too silly for the full A.

The match has a snake, alleged sewer rats, Big Boss Man as special referee and two men who are much better at projecting menace than producing anything useful in four minutes. Brown controls early, Roberts keeps looking for the DDT, and the action spills outside until Brown uses a chair. Boss Man sees the second weapon shot and calls for the disqualification. The post-match snake business receives a stronger crowd reaction than the match itself.

TJR calls the match bad and Meltzer's reproduced rating is minus one star. There is not enough time for the feud's fear-of-snakes premise to become interesting wrestling, and the DQ ensures that the little work they do still lacks payoff. WrestleFile gives it F / 3.4 because it is short, understandable and not disastrously executed. It is simply a poor wrestling match whose most memorable participant spends the finish inside a bag.

This match is built around a patriotic character turn rather than competitive wrestling. Duggan and Volkoff sing before the bell, the Orient Express attack, Volkoff takes a short heat segment and Duggan gets the hot tag before the three-point clothesline ends the match in just over three minutes. The crowd participates because the presentation gives them clear instructions. The wrestling itself contributes almost nothing.

TJR rates it half a star and names it the worst match on the show. Meltzer's reproduced rating is minus one star. Hall is slightly kinder at C-minus because the match gets out quickly, but speed is not the same thing as quality. WrestleFile lands at F / 3.2 because the bout is functional enough to avoid collapse but offers no meaningful reason to watch it outside the chronology of Volkoff's babyface turn and the incoming Sgt. Slaughter program.

Calling this a Savage-Rhodes match is technically accurate and emotionally misleading. The real segment is the Sapphire reveal: Ted DiBiase appears with Virgil, Sapphire emerges wearing expensive gifts, Dusty realizes that the mysterious benefactor has purchased her loyalty, and Savage attacks from behind before Rhodes can process the humiliation. The actual match lasts a little more than two minutes and ends when Savage uses Sherri's loaded purse.

As an angle, it is effective. Hall specifically likes the final image of Rhodes reaching the parking area after DiBiase's limousine has escaped. As a match between Randy Savage and Dusty Rhodes, it is a waste. TJR gives it one star and Meltzer minus one. WrestleFile gives the match D+ / 5.3 because Savage and Rhodes execute the tiny assignment cleanly, while the Event File separately credits the surrounding story. A good angle should not automatically receive a good match grade for standing nearby.

Hogan versus Earthquake is formula wrestling performed in front of the exact audience the formula was designed to manipulate. Earthquake wins the early strength tests, Hogan fails to slam him, and the big man gradually piles on offense until two Earthquake Splashes appear to finish the comeback before it begins. Then Hogan rises, absorbs the punches, finally slams Earthquake and hits the leg drop. The building responds to the slam as though Hogan has defeated geology.

The finish is the weakness. Jimmy Hart and Big Boss Man become involved, the fight spills outside, Hogan slams Earthquake onto a table and returns to the ring for the countout win. That protects Earthquake for the profitable rematches but denies the PPV a decisive payoff. Hall goes B-minus, TJR 2.25 stars and Leighty three stars while emphasizing the crowd heat. WrestleFile gives it B+ / 8.1 because the match accomplishes its emotional purpose extremely well. The countout is business-smart and event-dumb.

The steel cage gives Warrior and Rude a visual main-event hook but not enough time to build a great championship defense. They use the blue bars repeatedly, Rude lands the Rude Awakening and climbs high enough to deliver the night's most reckless blow, while Heenan interferes through the cage door before getting dragged inside and thrown back out. Warrior's comeback is simple: clotheslines, press slam, climb, escape.

The match is not bad. It is merely smaller than the championship moment requires. TJR gives it 2.5 stars and says the SummerSlam 1989 match was better. Hall is harsher at C-minus, arguing that the bout feels like a house-show main event, while Leighty lands at 2.75. WrestleFile goes C+ / 6.9 because Rude works hard, the cage is incorporated throughout and Warrior gets a clean retention. The larger problem is presentation: the WWF Champion closes a major show after Hogan has already received the night's true superstar reaction.